Purpose
by DreamingSpiritBells
Summary: What if Roland wasn't so bad? What if, the day he gets unwound, his memories were of the one person who gave him that purpose? READD xD Oneshot-ish, kind of, I'll probably write a second chapter, REVIEWSS
1. Chapter 1

_**Purpose**_

_**By:**_

_**Ashley~~**_

_**P.S: I do NOT own Roland orr the book Unwind. If I did I would be cuddling Roalnd right now. The only character I own is Ashley, anddd my story, sooo yea xD T.T Enjoy!**_

_**Starting Point:**_

_**(ok thisss starts like when Roalnd's being led to be unwound at Happy Jack Havest Camp, and he starts having all these flashbacks about the reason why he ran away from being unwoud and ended up and Sonia's place and stuff)**_

Roland didn't like to show his weak points. He didn't like to let people in, he hated the feeling of having someone know almost everything about him, and he hated getting close to people for that very reason.

Except when it came to her.

**(while roland's being lead down the red carpet to the Chop Shop, on like pageeee... 286-287 in the book, the italicized words are from the book, not me, the regular font letters are my writing, unless it says 'flashback' before.)**

_Roland's legs feel weak as they bring him out into the light of the day. The red carpet stretches out before him, the color of dried blood. Any time kids cross that terrible stone path, the always jump over it as if touching it were bad luck. Now they won't let Roland step off of it._

_"I want a priest," says Roland. "They give people priests, right? I want a priest!"_

_"Priests give last rights," says the counselor, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "That's for people who are dying. You're not dying- you'll still be alive, just in a different way."_

_"I still want a priest."_

_"Okay, I'll see what I can do."_

_The band on the roof of the Chop Shop has begun their morning set. They play a familiar dance tune, as if to mock the dirge playing inside his head. He knows Risa is in the band now. He sees her up there playing the keyboard._

And as he looks at Risa, his imagination gets the better of him. He tries to see her with short, ringlet tipped blonde hair that frames a gentle face almost like a halo. He tries to see those dark blue eyes that he's missed for nearly a year now, and he tries to picture that body that he always wished to keep against him. He desperately misses her. Not Risa, no, no, _her._

He feels a pang in his heart, which is something Roalnd barely ever feels, until his thoughts land on her. She's the only one that ever got to him like that. And the only one that ever will.

_He knows Risa hates him but he still waves to her, trying to get her attention. Even an acknowledgment from someone who hates him is better than having no one but strangers watch him perish._

_She doesn't turn her eyes toward the red carpet. She doesn't see him. She doesn't know. Perhaps someone will tell her he was unwound today. He wonders how she'll feel. _

He wonders if they will even inform Ashley, he wonders if it will hurt her as much as it had the first day she found out he was being unwound. It probably will, but he'll never get another chance to comfort her, to make her feel better.

He wonders what she'll do.

_They've reached the end of the red carpet. There are five stone steps leading to the doors of the Chop Shop. Roland stops at the bottom of the steps. The guards try to pull him along, but he shakes them off._

_"I need more time. Another day. That's all. One more day. I'll be ready tomorrow. I promise!" _

He's not saying it because he's afraid. Oh no, he's saying it because he doesn't want to be here, just like everyone else. But it's not because he has a home to go back to, filled with loving parents. He wants to be back with her, he wants everything to be ok.

For once.

_And still, above him, the band plays. He wants to scream, but here, so close to the Chop Shop, his screams will be drowned out by the band. The counselor signals to the guards. The guards grab Roland more firmly just beneath the armpits, forcing him to take those five steps. In a moment he's through the doors, which slide closed behind him, shutting out the world. He can't even hear the band anymore. The Chop Shop is soundproof. Somehow he knew it would be._

Once they strap him down to the operating table, he knows it's useless to fight, there's nothing he can do. Not anymore. It almost kills him inside to think he'll never be able to do the things he promised her, the things he always knew would make his life, finally, better than ever. He does not struggle, or curse at them, he just lets them do what they want.

The nurse that's currently by the operating table tries to make small talk with him while they set things up, but he ignores her. His mind is lost in memories of a better time, a better place.

**(ok NOWWW for the flashbacks, now you'll learn about Ashley, finally. xD)**

_Flashback:_

_A girl and a boy, both five, ran through a meadow behind his house, both squealing as five year old Roland tries to tag Ashley. Her halo of blonde hair flits in the breeze, she's just a tad bit quicker than he is, and when he finally gets her, she screams and tackles him to the ground. They wrestle, like it's nothing knew. Which, it isn't really, they've been together ever since the day they were both born. Their mothers were best friends, back then._

_~five years later~_

_Ten year old Roland picks at his cast which encases his arm, the spot where he drew the shark is fading by now, but he doesn't mind. Ashley'll re-draw it for him tomorrow when she comes over. Back then, he knew he had some feelings for her, he just didn't know what they were. He was now a bit more shy around her, but she didn't mind. _

_When she arrives at his house and finds him in his backyard the next day, he can't help but grin. She's wearing the shirt he gave her for her birthday, the one with a rose on it, it fits her just right. _

_One of his most favorite parts about her is her eyes, the ones she was born with. Not transplanted with. She never let her parents get her transplants, there was nothing wrong with her. Her eyes were this shade of dark blue that was original, unique, and around her pupils was a shock of silver that sometimes looked like cloudy blue when it was raining._

_He loved those eyes, and he loved when they were looking at him and him only. Because he could see everything in those eyes, everything she felt for him, she never held anything back from him. She accepted him for who he was, unlike his step dad. She even knew about his step dad beating his mom, he never kept anything from her. It was almost impossible. But he didn't mind._

_~three years later~_

_Thirteen year old Roland was now officially boyfriend/girlfriend with Ashley. He protected her in a way that everyone knew said 'back off, she's mine'. He even got in fights with any guy that even looked at her wrong. No one got his girl. No one. Ashley didn't mind though, she wouldn't have anyone else._

_It was about a year before he figured he loved her. And another four months before he told her. She smiled that day, I remember her smile, it was my favorite. Always reaching her eyes, and I remember the feeling that began to grow in my chest when she said it back, and how I knew she was telling the truth. _

_They stayed together, and to the teachers it was like they were bound at the hip._

_~two months after turning 15~_

_I remember the time we both decided we wanted eachother more than anything in the world. I remember that I spent every waking minute I could with her._

_I remember how her parents didn't mind._

_But the one thing Roland remembered most, was the day he found the unwind papers that had been signed for him. And he remember that same night when he told Ashley about it._

_She cried. She tried to go back to his house and beg his parents to un-do it, but he wouldn't let her. He just stood there and held her for what seemed like an eternity. And she let him._

_The papers had said that when he turned sixteen he would be taken to the harvest camp to be unwound._

_And that same night, Roland found his step-father beating his mother again. This time, he fought back. _

_And it gave them more of a reason to unwind him, his mother even sides with his step-father on it._

_~a week before he turned 16~_

_Roland's favorite night with her was when he took her virginity, and gave her his. He remembers holding her so tight, and remembers feeling so whole, for once. He remembers how, when they were done, he'd seen the blood coming from her, and how he'd felt so bad at the time. _

_I remember getting her pain killers, and then lying with her against my chest, and how she begged me not to go in a week. I remember holding her close and wishing I didn't have to, wishing I could just stay right here._

_But what I remember most, is how I finally realized she was my purpose. My reason for living._

_~two days before he turned sixteen~_

_I finally thought of a plan. I know what to do. I tell Ashley to run away with me, but I know she can't. I promise her I'll come back for her when I'm eighteen, and she promises she'll wait for me, and I know she will. It shows in those eyes. _

_I brush her hair back from her face and watch her face. The face I won't see for a long time._

_That night, I pack everything, leave my house, and go to her. When she comes outside we kiss, and it's one of the best I can remember, since it may be our last. But I won't think about that now._

_I hold her as tight as the night I took her virginity, and I promise her I'll come back and I'll marry her, and we'll start a family some day and she begins to cry again. But those tears are both sad because I'm going, and happy at the possible future. She then holds my face in her hands and watches my eyes and says sternly,"You come back now, you here?"_

_I nod, and then I'm gone._

_Back to now:_

I ran that night, and the next day I found Sonia's place, and everything just sort of happened from there, now here I am.

Roland watches as one of the other people holds a syringe and fills it with something, then the man moves it down to Roland's neck. To him, it almost happens in slow motion.

Then something odd happens, the door opens and everyone turns there head towards it.

And there's an angel standing there.

Well, not really an angel, but a girl who looks like one, she's dressed in white shorts and a tank-top, with shoulder-length blonde hair that shines like gold in the sunlight coming from behind her, and eyes that are a dark blue with a penetrating gaze. She's slim, but not like an anorexic, she's more curvey, and she looks pissed and calm and happy all at the same time.

And it's then that it clicks in Rolands head why the face looks so familiar, and he blurts out in disbelief and relief the name he's wished to say since the night he left her more than a year ago.

"Ashley!"

**OMG clifffffyyyyy xD **

**Don'tcha just love it tho?**

**And yeah I know Roland sounds a little off x.x I trieddd**

**Because I love this book. A lot.**

**Anddd I hate when Roland gets unwound.**

**Even if he's a bad guy.**

**xD review pleaseee and you guys get a huggg and some fudgeee**

**Because I love you alllll**

**~bellzy**


	2. Chapter 2

**Finally, chapter 2!**

**sorry I took a lil' while... I still needa figure out my naruto story, I got seriously stuck...**

**anywayss! **

**Enjoy~~**

**~bells**

**(back to where we were with Roland)**

As he looks at her, he can barely believe his eyes.

But that's when he realizes it. She's here. She's _here._

In the Chop Shop. He never wanted her to be in a place like this, he could never bare the thought of it. He has to restrain himself from struggling against the bindings that hold him down to the table. The table, moments ago, which had been where he would technically die.

And it only takes a half-second to realize the doctor hasn't moved from his place, the needle in his hand is still, pointing directly at a vein in the side of Roland's neck. He tries not to make the wrong move, because if he had, the needle would plunge right into that vein, and the doctor would remember what he was supposed to be doing.

Ashley still stands there, a hip popped out to the side, her eyes flashing as they take everything in. Roland keeps tabs on her as he tries to think of what to do, but he can barely come up with a plan before Ashley reaches behind her and pulls out a tranquilizer gun. Probably from the guard at the door, Roland figures.

"Let him go," she comands to the doctor and nurse, who are currently the only ones in this room, her eyes are as hard as ice.

It only takes a second for hell to break lose.

When the doctor and nurse don't immediately reply, Ashley shoots them, and they go down. It only takes a few more second for her to have crossed the room and worked one of his bindings lose. Roland can't keep his eyes off her for more than a moment, his relief and happiness, a rare emotion that passes his face, are apparent to her. She gives him a small smile, enough to show everything she's thinking or wondering as that smile reaches her eyes.

That's when the surgeons come in, and it's like Ashley knew they would, for she hops over his table and as soon as her feet hit the ground, she's shooting. She takes out about three, misses a fourth. The other two scatter, calling for back-up.

"Shit," Ashley curses, and Roland can't help but grin, she never was one for swearing.

She shoots him a look but otherwise gets the other bindings un-done, and as soon as he's up on his feet, he resists the urge to sweep her into his arms. There will be time later for that, he knows.

"The band, we have to get them off the roof. Now," she says frantically, searching one of the surgeons she took down for something to use as a weapon, considering she used up most of the tranquilizer darts in the gun. Her ear twitches and she stiffens for half a second, she hears the footsteps coming, just as Roland does.

When they reach the roof, caos has spread among the band members, Roland sees Risa frantically scanning the crowd, he knows she's searching for Connor.

"This way!" Ashley signals to them as she grabs two of the members by their shirt collars and drags them down the stairs.

"What in the world do you think you're-" Risa starts as she follows, but Ashley cuts her off by a short,"Breaking you out."

That shuts most of them up, and when they reach the bottom of the stairs, she signals for them all to be hushed.

Roland flanks her as she peers around the corner, and he vaguely notices the guards in the operating room, the faint trace of the red carpet showing beyond, he knows their out-numbered. It doesn't stop him, though, from barreling forward at her slight nod, the signal for him to go.

He manages to take out one guard and grab his gun before desperately shooting at the others. He takes out two more before he hears Ashley say,"Keep going! Everyone out!"

She grabs Roland's arm, and he can't help but think about how he missed her touch. Then he catches himself and works on moving guards aside if he can get them, and then moves on to watching Ashley's back, making sure she's alright as he follows her out the door.

Kids barrel out behind them, some guards following in confusion and Roland more feels Ashley link her arm through his than sees it, he's confused, but aware considerring he knows that if he doesn't keep her out of trouble, he'll lose her.

It's then she starts mumbling as she gets farther from the Chop Shop, kids have now started fighting back against the guards.

"Five... four...," she mumbles, Roland catches site of Risa and Connor, and Ashley glances towwards them.

"Three... two...," Ashley whispers before Roland slinks his arm around her waist, he figures what will happen, and he yells for people to steer clear of the Chop Shop.

"One." and right as she says the words, Roland moves her in front of him, moving her against his chest as behind him he hears an eruption.

The Chop Shop has blown up.

People scramble out of the way, some move after Roland and Ashley, and he ignores the feeling of some pieces scidding against his back. He barely notices Risa and Connor clambering after them, now having Lev in toe. Roland doesn't let her go for a few seconds as they keep walking, he doesn't ever want to let her go again.

When they finally get inside the building, it's strangely quiet. Well, quieter than the outside world. Connor, Risa, and Lev are the only ones that stick with them as they enter Happy Jack.

**Ok actuallyyyy...**

**since you guys like it, and since I've come up with more ideas for it xD**

**I'm gonna keep going with more chapter for it,**

**cuz this story's really growing on me,**

**whoever replies gets to hug their fav characterrrr in the bookkkkkk (not my story, unless they are included xD)**

**Revieewwwww cuz I love youuuuu**

**~bells**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Yay chapter 3! **_

_**sorry this one took a while too 0.o I started driver's e.d. And stuff x.x**_

_**anyways, please enjoy~~**_

_**~bells**_

_**(back to Roland againnnn ;D)**_

Out of the corner of his eye, he keeps an eye on Ashley, adjusting his movements accordingly every time she peers around a corner or slinks against a wall. He knows they are far from being in the clear, just as he knows that if they make one wrong move, it's over. Again.

He can barely keep his mind off of protecting the girl leading them through the hallways of Happy Jack long enough to watch out for the other three, but he still catches the faint trace of footsteps thunking down the hall. He abruptly grasps Ashley's arm and halls her back against his chest, putting a hand over her mouth and listening intently.

She doesn't struggle, just nods and listens, too, it's apparent in her eyes, to him at least, that she has caught on as well.

He releases her right as a guard rounds the corner, and before the guard can even register what's happening, Roland bears down on him harshly, knocking him to the floor and accidently (or intentionally) knocks him out.

Ashley, Connor, Risa, and Lev have already escaped down the hall opposite the one the guard came down, and Ashley hangs back, lurking until Roland gets up and follows after.

When he catches up he wraps his left arm around her waist protectively, whispering,"There are five still coming, we need to move quickly." She nods into his side.

"Did you get that guards tranquilizer?" she asked, and as if in answer he flicks it out before concealing it again. **(ummm... use your imagination cuz I didn't know if I should make him conceal it in his shirt or pants xD) **

"I call handling the next batch," Ashley continues, shooting him a look when he opens his mouth to protest, he knows now is not the time, as much as he wishes she wouldn't seek trouble. He knows she has to right now.

As much as he hates to admit it, she probably knows more about what she's doing right now than he does. He wonders if she'll come back to the Junk Yard with them, or go back to her house once she sees he's safe enough. He desperately hopes she'll stay, for as hard as he tried to forget her that first week so that he could do what he had to while on the run, he never could. Every day up until now, she was in some thought or other of his, and the very day that he stumbled into that antique shop and was hustled down into the cellar, he figured it all out. She was his very purpose, the reason he was fighting to stay alive.

That girl, who was standing next to him one second and then next kicking down a guard with another tranquilizer, and taking it as soon as said guard hit the ground, then shooting him to make sure he stayed down, was Roland's purpose. And he knew, as sappy as it sounded to him, she always would be. No matter what. So that's why, in the current events, he went against her telling him she'd get the next guards, and instead stayed at her side, battling down two guards and quickly moving on, with Connor, Risa, and Lev still in toe.

The other three kept quiet, their eyes full of confusion, and Roland gave them a few glances every now and then, whenever Connor stepped in to help keep the way clear of guards or sometimes nurses even, and Risa kept to the other side of Ashley, both keeping an eye on each other.

Roland ends up leading them to the reception desk, where the receptionist hides, cowering, under it. Ashley's the one to take her down, though she goes a bit gentler, having only shot her with a dart instead of flat out knocking her to the floor like some of the guards she had and then shooting them. Roland fights of a smile, he always knew she was tough enough, he'd seen it back at their school whenever some chick went after him.

It takes a moment to hear the sounds of many footfalls stampeding down the hallway, and that's when Roland realizes that everyone from the Happy Jack farm, including even a few Tiths, are escaping with them. It's then that he wonders how exactly they'll get back to the Junk Yard, but all thoughts are stopped when Ashley drags him out into the parking lot and shows him the helicopter that he'd actually flown in to the hospital a bit ago. The look in her eyes is enough to tell him that she's known where he was for at least a while now, and she hushes him when he opens his mouth to ask how.

"Now's not the time, babe," she speaks softly to him, then she turns and ushers Connor, Risa, and Lev into the helicopter, making them squish so Roland and her can fit. His heart beats a bit more rapidly when she shoots him a glance, he now knows she's coming with, and it's enough hope for him, now.

He climbs in to the driver's seat, and starts the helicopter as Ashley waves to the other kids now escaping int the woods surrounding Happy Jack, and as the heli slowly levitates into the sky, his right hand idly slides over, his fingers entwining with his purpose's left hand, and it takes everything not to hold it for dear life, he knows she hates when he does that. She gave him a taste of it a while back, when they'd first gotten together.

And as his eyes scan ahead into the sky, only one thought is going through his head still, and that is: _she's coming with me. _

_**Yay, muahaha cliffy though**_

**_I promise I'm working on this x.x driver's e.d. seriously takes up my thought process though... _**

**_gah, I'll update again as soon as I figure everything out, I get next week off, thank heaven x.x_**

**_sooo yea, hopefully there's gonna be more chaps 0.o_**

**_anywaysss_**

**_reviewww ;D _**

**_and then you get a plush doll of your fav character from the book Unwind, because I feel so bad about being late on this_**

**_I hope's u guys enjoyed this chap_**

**_~bells_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Finally!**_

_**Chapter 4! yay!**_

_**I deeply apologize that it took a while, I had to figure out other stories x.x**_

_**and I started high school D:**_

_**shocking, yes. XD**_

_**haha **_

_**Enjoy please!**_

_**~Ashley**_

_**WARNING**_

_**this is my first attempt at Risa's POV T.T**_

_**so if it sounds weird... I apologize x.x**_

_**I swear it gets better in the next chapter**_

_Risa:_

**(Muahahahaha finally!) **Risa watches silently from the seat behind Roland and the strange blond, and she barely even notes her hand softly clutching Connor's as they fly back towards the Junk Yard.

Yet her mind is far from silent.

She catches every glance between the two, and she finds herself captivated by the way they... well, outright _compliment _eachother. Whenever she shifts, Roland shifts as well, if only slightly. To Risa, it's almost... cute.

But she doesn't let her guard down around Roland. He proved to be enough of a danger when they had first met him.

Still, it amazes her the way he seems so.. _careful _around the girl that just blew up the Chop Shop and evidently rescued them from Happy Jack. She admits, she is rather grateful to be out of that place, but it just seems so.. odd, to her, the way Roland reacts around this girl that is not much older than herself.

Risa watches as the blond locks of that girl flit ever so slightly when she shifts, and her gaze slides to Roland, watching him with a tinge of amusement as he shifts to match her. Risa wonders if he's even aware he's doing it; she doubts he is by the concentrated look he has on his face as he flies the helicopter.

The sky is beginning to darken, yet the sun still shines ever so present in it's wake.

The flight is awkward, laced with silence, and they can feel every shift in the winds current.

To Risa, she feels like she's been boxed in.

Roland's voice cuts through the silence, and even though his voice is just above a whisper, everyone hears as he asks,"How long?" The blond looks over at him, and Risa notes that same gaze there: calm. She knows, however, that there is a lot more than to hat one gaze.

It takes a few seconds for the girl to reply,"If you don't count how many times I thought it over, or how long it took for me to actually leave, then I'd say about three hours." Roland smiles, and Risa finds something there in that smile... something that he's never shown before: True happiness.

Risa's watching them like a hawk, readying herself in case they decide to take them out, or Roland decides to crash the helicopter... either is a possibility.

Yet as she watches them interact-sees the way the girl's hand traces the outline of the shark on Roland's forearm, and how he doesn't seem to mind-she wonders if this is different.

"So your parents just let you walk out the door to come find me?" Roland asks, cutting the quiet again, and Risa notices something: neither of them seem to notice that her, Lev, and Connor are listening. It's like they're in their own little bubble..

The girl shrugs as she replies,"They knew I couldn't last long without you after you escaped; my dad said that I should do what I thought best." Roland nods, and soon asks another question,"How long did it take you to find out where I was?"

The girl scoffs this time, hiding a smile as she says,"Not long, it's not that hard to track someone when you set your mind to it." Roland grunts, amused as he replies,"I taught you that." The girl smiles this time, sliding over and leaning into his side as she replies softly,"I know."

Lev can barely hide the gagging noise, and Risa shoots him a look to shush him. He looks back with a blank facade.

She knows he's changed.

Connor squeezes her hand, breaking her out of the trance that is the couple in front of her. She looks up at him, and gives him a smile. Connor returns it, and she rests her head on his shoulder as she gazes ahead. **(lmao PDA xD well in my story I can do PDA! So There! Take that you squirrels.)**

Her ears tune in to the couple as they speak again this time more softer and sweeter to each other, and even if Roland does not take his hand off the steering device **(O.o what do helicopters steer with? A stick or a steering wheel? T.T I'm confused!)**, he leans against her as well, and it almost seems as if he is holding her.

"So then, why did it take you so long to come get me?" Roland asks as the girl wraps her arms around him from the side. **(rofl Christian side hug ;D) **The girl sounds amused as she answered,"It may be easy to track someone to where they've been, but catching up is a hastle, especially when someone," she sounds annoyed, yet playful now,"gets on a plane."

Roland actually chuckles slightly, and the sound is interesting for Risa to hear; it's... really care-free. "It's also hard to keep away from the Juvie Cops," he replies, watching the sky before him as he flies. Risa figures they must be getting close, now.

The girl nods in agreement as she says,"They came after me after about a month, my parents couldn't keep the curious teachers away for long. Not to mention my friends; they were probably really suspicious after the first two weeks I was gone." Roland nods back, and all becomes silent again as they begin to see the edges of the Junk Yard, and the planes.

Risa wonders what will happen now.

Just as she wonders if this girl; this one girl, on her own, could change Roland into a better person.

Her mind is confused, she'll admit, but even as they come closer to their destination, and even as Connor kisses her temple softly, secretly, a thought stands present in her mind.

_They didn't kill us, so maybe things will be alright._

_**Soooooo**_

_**What'dya think? was it horrible? D: sad day...**_

_**I'm sorry if it was, as I said it was my first try at Risa 0.o **_

_**and I wanted to focus on Roland and Ashley's relationship through someone else's eyes...**_

_**kind of. XD**_

_**So yeah, anyone who reviews gets HUGSSSS anddd COOKIESSSSSSSS**_

_**because I lurv yew**_

_**hehe**_

_**~bells**_


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